Getting inside the mind of your customer is crucial for a business. If you don’t make the time to really understand what makes your customers tick, your business could be seriously missing the mark. And with some advice from the experts, it’s not as difficult as you might think.
Businesses can become so fixated on their internal processes and systems that they forget what their business looks like from the customers’ perspective.
Daniel Banick, co-founder of digital advertising agency August says businesses must regularly consider what the customer experiences when they walk into your store or shop with you online.
Before August creates an e-commerce site for its customers, it goes mystery shopping.
When working with a car marque recently, it went through the process of testing driving cars, making online enquiries and shopping with competitors to put themselves in the customers’ shoes.
It undertook the same process with an outdoor equipment retailer.
“We shopped in their stores, bought products from their online store, and then shopped with their competitors. Then we went camping see how the equipment performed.”
“It’s vital that businesses understand what it’s like from the customers’ side of the fence if they want to improve,” Banick says.
Managers and business owners can gain a useful insight into their customers by studying customer behaviour.
Stephen Saunders, retail expert from The Shoppologist suggests blocking an hour or two out of your diary at least once a fortnight to simply go out and observe customers within your key demographic.
“You’ve got to get out of your comfort zone once in awhile. Go to a mall or the middle of a shopping centre near you and watch your customers. Look at where your product or service fits into their lives and what triggers their interest.”
Saunders says make sure you record the behaviour so you can track it. Businesses to have done this before, during and after the global financial crisis would have noticed significant changes among consumers, he says.
Brand engagement consultancy mext reminds businesses that customers differ greatly.
Stefan Grafe, mext’s founder and managing partner, says its own research has shed new light on shopper types.
The research found that there are four key groups of shoppers, which highlight the differences in retail behaviour and brand decisions. These are:
Businesses have ways and means of listening in even when customers don’t know about it. Social media monitoring is the next big thing, with businesses paying from $1,000 a month to track blogs, microblogs and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Jason Davey, managing director, digital marketing for digital agency Bullseye says monitoring enables a business to observe personal conversations, searching based on brand name, location or demographic.
Monitoring enabled a retailer to uncover a trend among young male skaters who preferred skating at night, prompting the brand to reposition itself and change its product lines slightly, resulting in a jump in sales, Davey says.
“Monitoring social media is becoming a lot more popular among businesses,” Davey says.
Google also offers a blog search for free and regular searches of Twitter and Facebook will uncover plenty of information.
When talking to a customer, ask open questions to understand their needs and challenges, rather than asking questions to find a fit for your product or solution.
Simon Harrop, managing partner, Sydney sales training and coaching outfit Straight Ahead Sales says the more you get the customer talking, the better chance you have of understanding what they really need.
If a customer is buying a computer, he suggests asking: ‘tell me about the users of the computer’ rather than ‘what size hard drive do you need?’
“Try and find out what’s causing them frustration and how you can help them by really listening. That way you won’t make assumptions,” Harrop says.
Don’t be tempted to take the easy route when researching your target market.
Too many businesses rely on advice from their partner or family what they like about their business, rather than finding out from their specific target market.
Adam Ferrier, consumer psychologist with Sydney’s Naked Communications says implementing a business or marketing plan based on the wrong information can be the nail in the coffin.
“You also need to understand where your business is now and where you want to be. And look at who you want as customers in the future.”
Ferrier warns that customers can be unreliable.
“People are the worst historians of our own behaviour. People don’t understand their own behaviour or lie to project themselves in the best possible light, or to appear more rational. People may also not understand their deeper motivations. Observing behaviour is better,” Ferrier says.
Or, ask people to project outside themselves, which can be more reliable, Ferrier says.
“Ask your customer what people like them do or buy. You’re much more likely to get more honest feedback.”
When dealing with your customers face to face, you don’t have to be a psychologist to uncover a few key truths.
If a customer drops that they holiday overseas regularly, for example, you know they have a high disposable income.
Susan Oakes, director of Sydney’s Marketing for Business Success says find out as much as you can about your customers.
“Actively listen when your customer is talking to you. They often give up a lot of information about themselves as they’re talking. Look at their facial expressions and find out what they’re interested in,” Oakes says.
“A lot of the time we assume we know our customers, but we don’t because they’re always changing. A customer may have lost their job or bought a house – you don’t know what’s happening in their lives.”
You can also research your customer by looking up their website or reading their tweets, which can help you service them better next time, Oakes says.
“You never stop learning about your customer.”
Conduct a survey of your customers, which can give you a crystal clear insight into what makes them tick.
A survey can uncover how a customer found your business, whether customer service is up to scratch, what they buy from you and how often, and much more.
But consider hiring a professional to conduct the survey on your behalf as the results are likely to be much more useful, Oakes says.
“You need to make sure you’re getting more than just yes or no responses to your questions. You need detail.”
Oakes suggests offering participants something worthwhile for their time, like movie tickets or a discount.
Consider setting up an experiment, which Ferrier says can paint a telling picture for a business. If you think a particular product or service sells best on a particular day, then move things around in your store or run a promotion to see how it goes.
Make sure you record the results. Try a different approach next time and again record the data, Ferrier says.
“Small in-house experiments can help you to track what works and what doesn’t. Just make sure that you look at the results and if something doesn’t sell, try a different experiment the next time.”
Once a business understands their customer, they then need to ensure their customer understands their business.
Australia’s largest promotional agency, Zinc, does this by communicating with its customers during the different stages of the buying cycle.
“We print a magazine three or four times a year just for our clients, which offers tips, articles and helpful information. We also host information breakfasts throughout the year for our clients,” Peter Cleary, Zinc’s CEO says.
“You want to increase your communication in this economic environment, not reduce it, so that you’re top of mind when the customer reaches the top of the buying cycle again.”
Zinc communicates most regularly with the top 20% of its clients, Cleary says.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
